The Executive

In political science and constitutional law, the executive is thebranch of government responsible for the day-to-day managementof the state. The executive branch acts by and with the advice andconsent of the legislative made by the legislature and thus issubject to the legislative branch.

Political executives are government officials who includeheads of state and government leaders-presidents, prime-ministers,premiers, chancellors, and other chief executives, and manysecondary figures, such as cabinet members, ministers, councilors.

The executive is identified by the head of government. In apresidential system, this person (the President) may also be theHead of State, whereas in a parliamentary system he or she isusually the leader of the largest party in the legislature and is mostcommonly termed the Prime Minister (Taoiseach in the Republicof Ireland, Chancellor in Germany and Austria). In France,executive power is shared between the president and the primeminister and this system has been reproduced in a number offormer French colonies, while Switzerland and Bosnia andHerzegovina have collegiate systems for the role of head of stateand government. The head of government is assisted by a numberof ministers, who usually have responsibilities for particular areas

(e.g. health, education, foreign affairs), and by a large number ofgovernment employees or civil servants.

The crucial element in the organization of a national executiveis the role assigned to the chief executive. In parliamentarysystems, such as in Great Britain, the prime minister is the nationalpolitical leader, but another figure, a monarch or elected president,serves as the head of state. In mixed presidential-parliamentarysystems, such as that established in France under the constitutionof 1958, the president serves as head of state but also wields

important political powers, including the appointment of a primeminister and Cabinet to serve as the government.

In nearly all political systems the 20th century has seen analarming increase in the powers of chief executives. The office ofthe presidency in the United States, like the office of primeminister in Britain, has greatly enlarged the scope of its authority.

The executive is often delegated some legislative power,mainly the power to issue regulations or executive orders whichcomplete a piece of legislation with technical details or points

which might change frequently (e.g. fees for governmentservices). The executive may also have powers to issue legislation

during a state of emergency.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-16